Cyberattacks are on the rise. In 2021 alone, the average number of cyberattacks increased by 15.1% from the year before.  And with major attacks like the Yahoo data breach, which saw 3 billion users affected, or the allegations made during the 2016 election about foreign interference, America’s cybersecurity policies have come into question recently.

Cyberattacks affect a wide variety of fields, in both government and business, and not surprisingly, cybersecurity is a rapidly growing industry. Most people think the answer to cybersecurity lies solely in technical knowledge. However, statistics show that most breaches involve some sort of human error. For example, Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, found that “74% of all breaches include the human element, with people being involved either via error, misuse, use of stolen credentials or social engineering." Human psychology has an important role to play: understanding the psychological factors that influence individuals’ online behavior can be crucial for designing effective cybersecurity measures and for improving individuals’ online safety.

One important area of research in the intersection of cybersecurity and technology focuses on understanding how individuals’ decision-making processes can be influenced by factors such as their emotions, biases, and motivations. For example, research has shown that people may be more likely to fall for phishing scams when they are under time pressure or when they are experiencing negative emotions. Understanding these psychological factors can help security professionals design more effective strategies for preventing phishing attacks and other types of cyber threats.

Understanding the psychology of the people carrying out cyberattacks provides insightful information. Analyzing what motivates them and why and how they choose their targets, helps in designing effective counter measures.  Attackers could be driven by several factors including political ideology or financial gain. The ability to profit from cyberattacks has led to an increase in their frequency. Attackers can hack into user data and financial information and can even sell unauthorized data in the black market. A factor contributing to the increase in attacks is the online sharing of hacking knowledge, with a thriving cybersecurity internet community offering freely available resources.

Another growing area of research focuses on the psychological impact of cybersecurity. Research has shown that people who experience a cyberattack may experience a range of negative psychological consequences, including stress, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. Understanding these psychological impacts can help security professionals design more effective responses to cybersecurity incidents and provide better support to individuals who have been affected.

The intersection of psychology and cybersecurity is an important and complex area of study that has the potential to improve our understanding of how individuals behave online and how we can better protect ourselves and others from cyber threats.  Bringing psychology into cybersecurity also illustrates how important it is to consider both technical and human factors in designing and implementing security measures.

Bibliography:

1.     “Cyber Attack,” Computer Security Research Center, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 10/28/2022.  csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/Cyber_Attack 

2.     Chuck Brooke, “Alarming Cyber Statistics for Mid-Year 2022 That You Need To Know,” Forbes, Integrated Whale Media Investments, 06/03/2022. forbes.com/sites/chuckbrooks/2022/06/03/alarming-cyber-statistics-for-mid-year-2022-that-you-need-to-know/?sh=c3607637864a 

3.     Jeong, Jongkil, Mihelcic, Joanne, …” Towards an Improved Understanding of Human Factors in Cybersecurity.” Easy Chair Print. 11/25/2019

scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=yahootechpulse.easychair.org/publications/preprint_download/XRKm&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IJm0Y5CLDsSYywTZh5fgCg&scisig=AAGBfm2Ess9ZXDIrAizK6EXuEmI9yboU9A&oi=scholarr

4.     Troy La Huis, and Michael Salihoglu, “The Psychology of Cybersecurity,” Crowe, 10/30/2019. crowe.com/cybersecurity-watch/psychology-of-cybersecurity